Taylor & Bock: Don't leave human service workers out of the recovery

Friday

Dec 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMDec 26, 2008 at 12:25 AM

As we hear President-elect Obama speak about his plans for getting 3 million Americans back to work, rebuilding our economy, reforming healthcare, and upgrading our nation's roads and infrastructure, we are inspired, but concerned. For nearly 30 years, we have led two large, not-for-profit organizations providing a broad array of services to more than 16,000 people in Massachusetts. These services are at risk.

William J. Taylor & Scott Bock

As we hear President-elect Obama speak about his plans for getting 3 million Americans back to work, rebuilding our economy, reforming healthcare, and upgrading our nation's roads and infrastructure, we are inspired, but concerned. For nearly 30 years, we have led two large, not-for-profit organizations providing a broad array of services to more than 16,000 people in Massachusetts. These services are at risk.

Our employees are part of a human services workforce of 104,000 people in Massachusetts alone. Today, our entire industry, which in the Commonwealth serves over one million people, requires immediate help. Community-based mental health, developmental disability, and related services, were largely built on the foundation of President Kennedy's Community Mental Health Center Act of 1963. Today, this service system, which has evolved over four decades, is in peril.

To date, there has been no mention of human services in the incoming administration's plans for righting the country. Just when people need us most, we are faced with laying-off employees, closing critical services, and enduring the consequences of years of inadequate funding. Our physical infrastructure is also dangerously outdated, and we are frequently faced with the need to purchase and/or renovate buildings and meet a host of new software and hardware requirements, with little or no additional dollars. We do not need a bailout, but we do need a way out. We need to be part of the plans.

Our employees work in group homes, on the street, in clinics, day programs, recovery homes, battered women's shelters, nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, child care facilities, and more. This workforce helps people with disabilities avoid costly institutional care and join the workforce. It also allows others to remain working, by caring for their loved ones - both children and elders.

According to a recent study, the median pay for human service workers is just $23,844. Increasing pay for this critical workforce will result in money being spent in their local communities, improving the economic health of those communities. The Boston Globe reported recently that Governor Patrick had $3.4 billion in public works infrastructure projects ready to go, if we had federal assistance. At the same time, programs for people recovering from mental illness and substance abuse are closing. Workers are being laid off. Even funds set aside by the Massachusetts legislature for a modest increase in the pay of some human service workers has been "delayed," thus far without explanation.

Turning toward human services also means addressing working women. Women now represent almost half the nation's workforce, yet represent just 6 percent of construction workers. On the other hand, women represent 81 percent of the human service workforce in Massachusetts, and 67 percent of the total non profit workforce, according to a another recent study.

We sincerely hope President-elect Obama succeeds in his plans to improve life in this country. We are asking that the stimulus package be balanced to help the human service workforce, and to build and repair our services devoted to human capital and our physical infrastructure.

Scott M. Bock is President/CEO of Riverside Community Care, based in Dedham, Massachusetts. William J. Taylor is President/CEO of Advocates, Inc., based in Framingham.

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